In part four of the Graphic Designer series, we spoke to one of our OG customers Kirstyn from Nutmeg Creative. A connoisseur of calligraphy and penmanship, lover of plants and creator of cards with humour (that are actually funny!!!). 

 

Pictured: Nutmeg Creative Greeting Card. Font: Nutmegs own handwritten. Print by Hashprint Digital (Printed on 350GSM Satin)

What inspires you?

Lot’s of different things! Sometimes it’s a gorgeous hand painted sign, a special texture on paper or a certain shape or colour combo. And other times it’s a quirky saying that I will adapt and rework into something that works for me, my brand and my sense of humour. I don’t do the whole hallmark BS so my greeting cards just say it how it is. I’m also inspired by so many talented makers, be they other designers, hand letters or artists, there is just so much serious talent out there!

Pictured: Nutmeg Creative Greeting Card. Print by Hashprint Digital (Printed on 225GSM Buffalo Kraft with white ink)

Is that your natural handwriting or do you amend it to suit each brief?

I use a mixture of hand lettering and fonts depending on the brief. The all caps font on my greeting cards is a font that I made myself by using my iPad Pro and writing each individual letter. Now I’m just able to type using my own handwriting which is pretty cool! This style along with my other hand lettering styles are VERY different from my usual chicken scratch handwriting, some times I can’t even read my own to do lists! 

Pictured: Nutmeg Creative Greeting Card. Font: Nutmegs own handwritten. Print by Hashprint Digital (Printed on 350GSM Satin)

What is the most challenging job you have ever created?

My most challenging job was a bit of a strange one involving a hand painted chalkboard scoreboard complete with the recreation of a detailed logo, all at a very large scale. Another challenging but really fun job was painting the word ‘Vintage’ on the outside of a shop wall about 4 metres up on scaffolding!

 

Why 'Nutmeg' creative?

I wanted my brand to represent me without having my actual name in the title. Nutmeg or Meg for short was the name of my family dog growing up. I have two dogs of my own now, but I couldn’t choose one over the other so I went with Nutmeg. The original Nutmeg was a Red Heeler X Pomeraian (I know right!) and I have a photo of her on my wall in my studio so she’s always hanging out and seeing what I’m creating.  She was also a little bit cheeky, so it works well with the type of humour I try and bring to my products.

 

Pictured: Nutmeg Creative Calendar. Font: Nutmegs own handwritten. Images by Katie Thomas Creative Print by Hashprint Digital (Cover Printed on 350GSM Satin, inside 190GSM)

We love your humour! Where do you get your card ideas from?

My best ideas usually come to me after a glass of wine or two!! Sometimes I might see something that sparks an idea and then sets my brain off on a tangent and I can get a bit carried away - if you’ve read the stories in the desk calendars you’ll know what I mean! I’ll often hear or see something, then tweak it, rework and adapt it to suit my style and audience - my phone notes section is full of greeting card ideas that didn’t quite make the cut.


How long have you been doing your side hustle for?

I started this whole Nutmeg bizo in November 2017 with a small range of greeting cards at the former Gilles Street Market (now Gilles at the Grounds). The business has grown and adapted since that time and I have a much wider range of greeting cards, bookmarks, stationery as well as some hand painted products like doormats. Since starting my business I’ve been lucky to work with some amazing South Australian businesses and have created lasting relationships like with the awesome team at Hash Print Digital!


Favourite card?

It’s probably the ‘I miss you like an idiot misses the point’ card - that one always gets a good giggle at markets and I always get a bit of a kick when I see someone's face when they read it.

If you would like to purchase any of Nutmeg Creative's cards visit here. To commission Kristyn for specific handwriting jobs contact her here

 

Cheryl Rabbah